Richard Morris explains how hot-desking can help freelance trainers and smaller training businesses make the leap to the next level. 

Setting up your own business requires organisation, dedication and focus. Attempting important planning and administrative tasks from your home office (often just a kitchen table or convenient desk) might seem like a solution. But the reality is that day-to-day life too often intrudes, making concentration difficult. 

Many start-up businesses are caught between an unprofessional home set-up and not being sufficiently big enough to justify their own office space. Hot-desking is providing an innovative and flexible solution, helping start-ups to really take-off.

Hot-desking is part of a growing trend towards workplace flexibility and the move away from the outdated 9-5 mentality. In essence, hot-desking is simply the hire of a desk within a shared, managed workspace – a space to work that is available when required to fit around the particular needs of the business or individual.

Hot-desking is an approach being adopted by businesses of every size, providing today’s workers with the flexibility and work-life balance that they crave. Certainly, where entrepreneurs and smaller businesses are concerned, the benefits of taking the hot-desking approach are immediate and compelling:

Affordable and immediate

Hot-desks don’t require hefty upfront sums and lengthy contracts – great news for cash-strapped startups. Instead, a model similar to that of gym membership enables you to get started immediately. Priorities and plans can change from day-to-day as your business is establishing itself, so the flexibility to simply drop-in, connect your laptop and work productively is key. 

Grow at your own pace

If you’re a homeworker not yet wanting full-time office space then hot-desking can provide an excellent next-step. Desks can be rented for as little or as long as you require, taking you out of the distracting home environment and into a space geared towards professionalism and productivity.

Easy IT

IT can be frustrating and a real time drain, particularly if you work from home with no access to dedicated support. Renting a hot-desk means you can just plug in and go with access to fast and efficient wifi and telephony, with expert support on-hand. 

Everyday networking 

Networking is critical to growth and success. Working from a hot-desk in a collaborative work environment opens up a raft of potentially useful and lucrative contacts. Who knows, that person at the next desk might provide a service that your business could really use. Or they might be looking to invest in precisely the products or services that you offer. One thing’s for sure, such contacts won’t be made from your kitchen table. 

Location, location, location

Flexible workspaces continue to grow in number, making it easy for you to find a hot-desking space that is convenient and fits your lifestyle. Indeed, it may make sense to work out of a number of locations depending on your business plans. This flexibility helps you to run things as efficiently as possible.  

Mobile technology and connectivity make it easy for start-ups to turn ideas into business reality from home. But, as the business grows, these home workers quickly find that this way of working carries too many distractions. Establishing a business presents enough challenges without having to worry about whether you can get a phone signal from the back of the house, or shifting from room-to-room in search of quiet and comfort. What’s more, isolating yourself at home can be limiting in terms of networking, development and wellbeing.

Hot-desking encourages productivity and professionalism whilst still offering the flexibility that today’s dynamic workforce demands. It’s a convenient, no-risk answer for today’s fast-thinking, fast-acting business brains.

Richard Morris is CEO of Evans Easyspace